The Princess
by AlphaArchAngel
Summary: It's the day of the royal wedding! Come gather as we celebrate the marriage between Princess Juvia and Prince Gray! It's a match made in heaven! Yet what are we to do, when the princess herself, is having doubts about the man she loves?


**Hey everyone! AAA here. For starters, this one is a pure one-shot, something I felt like doing while I bang my head over Guild of Thieves. That one isn't dead, but I wanted to do a different little story with a different setting, theme, and MC. This one is all about Juvia! Anyway, I hope you guys like it, it was kind of fun writing a pure romance story. ALSO! The original version of this story in Spanish, not as long, but the main parts of it are the same, let me know if you guys want that uploaded as well. If you like what you read; leave a review, fav, or follow, it really means a lot! And as always I don't own these characters they're Mashima's. Now I hope you enjoy my sweet, little one-shot: The Princess**

The Princess

Once upon a time, there was a city floating in the center of the sea. This was the kingdom of Silera, a majestic gem of a city, shining in the spring sun amongst calm ocean waters. Yet the kingdom itself was alive with energy, for today was the day of  
Princess Juvia's wedding and everyone was busy preparing. Bakers made wedding cakes by the dozen, chefs were preparing feasts for the entire kingdom, musicians were fine-tuning there instruments en masse, painters and architects were scrambling to  
prepare sculptures crafted from ice. Blue ribbons and lace, were hung from the stone buildings and trees while lanterns and lights were hung from rooftop to rooftop. The entire kingdom was anxiously waiting for the sun to go down for that was when  
the wedding was supposed to start, when the clock struck 7. However, no one was more nervous than the princess herself. And she didn't know why.

Everything about her life had been perfect up until that morning. Butterflies had entered her stomach that morning and had refused to leave ever since. She couldn't tell if she was having doubts, or was sick, she just didn't know and it was driving her  
mad. With a groan of frustration Juvia flung herself on her four poster bed with her head hanging off the side. The soft, sky blue linen that complimented her hair did little to ease her nerves. Juvia then noticed a frame picture on her nightstand.  
In it was a picture of five kids all with varying degrees of smiles and bruises on their bodies. Their clothes were ripped and their hair was messy but they all seemed genuinely happy. They were all lumped at the foot of a bed. Two boys were on each  
end of the group, both with toothy grins on their faces. A little girl with wild blonde hair in her face was laughing with her arm around Juvia, while a slightly taller girl with scarlet hair gave the camera a wicked grin and had her arms crossed  
over her chest. And in the center of it all was little 7 year old Juvia with laughter and happiness very clear on her face.

Juvia smiled at the picture. Even while upside down she could clearly make out all the bruises and smiles and cuts they all shared. It was the happiest day of her life. It was also the day she met her soon to be husband, Gray. They had met by pure chance  
when all noble families gathered for the annual New Year's festival. She still hadn't forgotten that day.

Leterra, Alvarez. New Year's Eve. 17 years ago

She had fallen ill during the journey to the capital, and was bedridden for the entire festival. Her parents were so busy greeting the other royal families they had no choice but to leave her in her room in the care of her handmaidens. Her parents had  
always been overprotective, and while the kingdoms knew of the little and only princess, she rarely made public appearances. It also didn't help the fact that Juvia was incredibly shy, and spoke in the third person. Because of these quirks of hers,  
she always preferred to hide behind her mother's dress or father's leg. Her room was spacious, with a bed as big and soft as the one back home. Her maids would check in every hour or so, making sure she had fresh water by her bedside and warm food  
whenever she asked.

They had brought her a white nightgown to wear in bed, and they refused to leave until she wore it. Despite her maids caring, that didn't cure her boredom or her loneliness. Juvia sat up in bed, restless. She had been in her bed all day and was growing  
bored. She jumped on her bed and brushed her curly blue hair out of her eyes. She looked out the giant glass window in the side of the castle at the city of Leterra. As the sun set lower in the sky, Leterra became more alive with music and dancing  
and parties as people welcomed the beginning of a New Year. Juvia looked up at the darkening sky and saw a lone star, a faint little, white light amidst a sea of growing purple and she found herself sad.

"Juvia knows how you feel. Life can be pretty lonely sometimes. But as long as you don't leave Juvia, Juvia promises she won't leave you Mr. Star. Juvia's name is Juvia, and it's really nice to meet you." Juvia said in a small voice but also with a smile.  
It felt nice being able to talk to someone new.

"Mr. Star do you believe in wishes?" Juvia asked plopping down onto her knees, resting her elbow on the window frame, and gazing up at the lone star.

"Juvia doesn't but Mama and Papa always tell her to make one, every year on her birthday or when there's a shooting star, or when she blows on a dandelion. Why do we need to make so many wishes? Are people not happy?" she asked the star. There was no  
verbal response but the star seemed to twinkle in response, and Juvia smiled.

"If Juvia could have only one wish, it would be to have friends." she said in a quiet voice. The star seemed to shine brighter after the comment and Juvia felt herself giggle. "Don't worry Mr. Star you will always be Juvia's first friend that won't change  
ever." she said a smile on her face.

"But Juvia wants to meet kids her age. To share her dolls with someone, and play tag, and hide n seek, and go swimming with them. If she could only have one wish that would be it." Juvia then strained herself, focusing on her speech, she didn't want this  
wish to be in the third person.

"I wish I could have friends." Juvia said with a sad smile on her face, yet also proud that she managed to speak properly for once.

As soon as she finished speaking though, the large wood door burst wide open before slamming shut. Juvia jumped up and let out a small squeal before diving under her bed.

She wondered who had just burst into her room like this when the party was just starting. She slowly crawled towards the edge of the bed and could make out three pairs of feet, yet didn't dare peak her head out, when she heard voices speaking in loud  
whispers.

"This is all your fault flame head! You just had to put firecrackers under Erza's seat!" the first voice said, clearly angry. It sounded like a boy speaking.

"It was supposed to be Gajeel's seat! But Wendy wanted to sit next to him so he traded seats with Erza! How was I supposed to know that!?" the second voice responded, also a boy.

"Will you two be quiet!?" a third voice chimed in, this one sounded like a girl's voice. "She's going to hear us!"

All of a sudden the door started to bang very loudly and Juvia could hear another voice yelling from the other side of the door, Juvia assumed it was Erza and the voice was very, very angry.

"Come out you cowards! Accept your punishment with dignity!" the voice yelled from the other side of the door.

"Whoever this Erza is, they're way too formal" Juvia muttered under her breath as a sweat drop formed on the back of her head.

The banging on the door only got louder. One of the boys said "We gotta hide!" in a panicked voice and his feet began frantically running around the room.

"Under the bed!" the other one responded.

Juvia held her breath and scooted closer to the wall as three more small bodies slid under the bed alongside her.

The first one to hide under the bed was a little blonde girl with big caramel eyes that looked the same age as Juvia. She was dressed in a pink knee dress, with gold stars patterned on it. Her hair was done in a little ponytail. She held a little key  
ring in her hands with several gold keys on it.

The second one to hide under the bed was a boy with jet black spiky hair. Dressed in a simple maroon button down shirt and black pants he was taller than Juvia and the girl but he looked about the same age, if not a year older. He also had a silver sword  
cross hanging from around his neck

The last one to hide under the bed was the other boy. This one had onyx eyes, a sharp face, and Juvia couldn't believe it but pink hair. Juvia couldn't help but be happy that there was someone else in the world who had weird natural colored hair. This  
boy also had a scaly white scarf and was dressed in a black vest, with white button shirt and black pants. This boy looked to be about the same age as the other two.

Just as the last boy got under the bed the wood door burst open again. All four of the children collectively held their breath as a new pair of shoes entered the room. They were bright red heels, but they were worn by someone very young. They stomped  
around the room and four pairs of eyes anxiously followed them as they searched from one end of the room to the other, checking the closet and the bed itself.

"I'll find you! Just you wait!" the voice, clearly a young girl's yelled out, before stomping out of the room.

All four children let a sigh of relief as they saw the red heeled girl's feet leave the room. The pink haired boy turned to his friends and said "See told you guys we would be fine if we hid in here" with a sigh of relief.

"Oh shut up Natsu, we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you" the black haired boy responded, a look of pure irritation on his face.

"Yeah, besides we don't even know where here is" the blonde girl added in matching the boys expression.

Juvia wanted to laugh at their predicament. The three were so funny that she actually wanted to join in. And to Juvia's immense surprise she found herself speaking.

"Well if you want to know you're under Juvia's bed in Juvia's room" she answered them, pulling herself forward to see all three of them.

"You see Natsu? Because of you we barged into…I'm sorry but what was your name again?" the blonde haired girl yelled at her friend before turning to Juvia and asking her a question.

"Juvia. It's Juvia" the little bluenette responded.

"Thank you. Because of you Natsu, we ran into Juvi-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the blonde suddenly screamed out loud.

Her friends quickly followed suit, calling out in surprise at both the blonde's scream and Juvia's presence. All three of them slammed their heads into the bed as they all tried to escape from under it. They all clutched their heads, fighting back the  
tears.

Juvia couldn't help but break out laughing at their predicament, the look of pure surprise and terror on their faces was one of the funniest things she had seen in a long time. In fact she didn't think she ever laughed so hard before.

The three turned to glare at the laughing girl, before the pink haired boy actually started laughing too. Soon the black haired boy joined in, until not very long all four of them were laughing uncontrollably under Juvia's bed.

"My name is Natsu. Ms. Screams a Lot over there is Lucy, and Mr. Frowny Face is Gray. Nice to meet ya Juvia" the pink haired boy proclaimed, reaching out his hand across the other two and held it out for Juvia.

Juvia openly stared at the boy's hand before shyly reaching her own hand across and shaking it.

"Juvia's name is Juvia. It's nice to meet you too Natsu" Juvia said in a quiet voice.

"Geez try being polite when you introduce people next time" the blonde haired girl said giving the pink haired boy a smack on the back of his head. "My name is Lucy Heartfillia. It's nice to meet you Juvia" she finished with a smile, also shaking the  
Juvia's hand.

"Gray. Gray Fullbuster. What they said" the black haired boy finished with a grin and reaching out to shake Juvia's hand.

Before he was able to reach her hand though, they heard footsteps and saw a flash of red appear. What Juvia saw next was a girl with incredibly deep red hair on all fours and staring with pure anger in her eyes. All Juvia had to know was that she was  
scary.

"FOUND YOU!" the red-head yelled out.

All four children screamed at the top of their lungs at the sudden appearance of Erza.

Silera, Present

Juvia smiled at the fond memory, the day she met her closest friends. Juvia still remembered the indiscriminate beating Erza had given all four of them. And how they all desperately fought back for survival. When the parents came in trying to find out  
what all the noise was they discovered the room more or less destroyed, with five bleeding yet laughing children. That was when the picture was taken. Juvia couldn't help but laugh even now at that whole situation. Erza had a temper that no one could  
stop. She wondered how Jellal put up with it constantly.

"Only Jellal could ever calm you down Erza. Poor guy." Juvia said to herself with a chuckle.

Juvia looked at the clock and realized it was 5:30 in the evening. The wedding was scheduled to begin at 7, she had better start getting ready. She hopped to her feet off her plushy bed, and after showering, changed into her wedding dress. She didn't  
want anyone, even her maids to see her in her dress before the wedding. Some parts were superstition, but mainly she was just too nervous and didn't want anyone to see her.

She stood in front of her full length mirror in her white dress. The dress fell elegantly to the floor and trailed gently when she walked. It had lines of ocean blue running through the dress, perfectly matching her hair and eyes. She looked in the mirror  
and forced a smile, her cheeks a rosy red in contrast to her white skin.

"Today is my special day, but why am I not happy?" she asked her reflection.

She walked over to the window and gazed out over the infinite ocean. She had always liked the view from her room. She had refused to move into the royal bedroom because of it. The ocean sparkled, and glimmered with the setting sun, the sky a mix of rosy  
pink and orange, slowly becoming purple. Juvia let out a sigh. She loved Gray, she loved him with all her heart, and she knew that with every fiber of her being. Yet her mind had nothing but doubts and questions.

"What do I do Mom? I love him, but what do I do?" Juvia asked in a quiet voice, tears threatening to leave her eyes. "If only you could be here to see me. You'd know what to do, and you'd be proud. I don't speak in third person anymore, and you were right  
all along. I'm going to marry Gray. You had it called all those years ago. But…" Juvia lowered her head as she felt her voice began to quiver "I miss you and I don't know what to do. All these emotions and doubts inside my head, is this normal? Did  
I make a mistake? Am I really happy? Does Gray even love me…? Mom, I know you're in a better place, I miss you so much, and I'd give anything to hear your voice again, but if you could give me a sign, anything, please, I need help…" Juvia asked, as  
her voice cracked and tears began to fall down her face.

Just as she finished speaking she heard a knock on the door that made her jump. "Who is it?" she called out, wiping the tears off her face, and fixing her dress.

When no response came, she walked over to the door and opened it slightly, but no one was there. Opening the door fully she saw a small book on the floor. Her curiosity piqued, she reached down and picked up the little brown book. On top of the book was  
a little note that said "First 4 Pages". She would recognize that handwriting anywhere, and it belonged to Gray.

Closing the door, she walked back over to her bed, and flopped down on it, not caring if her dress got wrinkled. With a deep breath she opened the book. On the very first page, was the very same picture Juvia had on her nightstand and beneath the caption  
was the writing "The day we met". Juvia felt her heart grow lighter, and herself grow happier as she saw the picture that she had treasured for so many years. Remembering what the note said, she turned the page. The second page was a picture of her,  
Gray, Gajeel, Natsu, Erza, and Lucy all a little older now about 10 and they were running towards the camera. Juvia laughed at this picture. It was Natsu's birthday and he had wanted to play tag with everyone. Natsu had gotten Gajeel to play, mainly  
because he taunted Gajeel by saying he was faster. It was such a simple birthday party yet it was a lot of fun. She remembered she and Lucy spent a lot of time being it because they couldn't keep up with the other ones. The caption under this photo  
was "The day you chased me". She felt her smile grow wider, as she sat up on the bed now

Juvia turned the page again and in this photo was a rather large group picture, taken outside the Silera royal palace next to a giant swimming pool. In the picture was Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Erza, Gajeel, who looked older again, about 14 now, and all  
of their friends and siblings who could make it. Everyone was staying over in Silera because they were celebrating the Summer Solstice festival. Juvia remembered this picture because it was taken moments before Erza, Cana, and Lucy had all picked  
her up, while Natsu, Gajeel, and Jellal picked up Gray and threw them in the pool. She never really understood why they did it then at that moment, it wasn't like her crush on Gray at the time was a secret. Not that she would ever complain that they  
did. She smiled because everyone else soon jumped in afterwards and the wildest pool party ever soon followed. Underneath the cursive caption read "The day our friends knew", and Juvia felt her smile grow even wider at those words. Her friends had  
always been the most supportive and kind ones she could have asked for.

Remembering the note, Juvia turned to the final page and picture. It was a picture of Juvia and Gray, now older, at least 17 or 18. Juvia remembered this photo well though. This photo was taken right after their first "official" date. He had his arms  
around her waist, and his head rested on her shoulder, while her arms were reached out with the camera to take the photo. They both had smiles on their faces, and Juvia could still make out the blush on hers when she realizedGray had put his  
head so close to hers. Juvia felt tears of happiness and joy form in her eyes this time, but she quickly wiped them away when she what was written. Underneath the photo, in the same impeccable, icy blue colored cursive was the caption "The time I  
finally realized, you had always been the only person for me".

In that very moment every single shred of doubt and worry that had been plaguing Juvia vanished. She couldn't contain her smile, happiness, and joy. All she was that she loved this man with all her heart and was now determined to marry him. With newfound  
resolution Juvia jumped up from the bed and after quickly fixing her makeup again, ran out of the room, now fully excited for her special day. As she ran out of the room, even though she didn't see it, two little stars twinkled warmly at her newfound  
happiness.


End file.
